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Good "Forgetters"
When I was a senior in High School, I drove our 49 Ford coupe with its twin “Smitties” and shinny new black paint to school one day. When I had finished basketball practice after school, I walked home and left the Ford parked at school. So, I had to walk back to school to get the car. I have always been forgetful, especially, if I am focussing on something else. And, I am at an age now that I am forgotten what I forgot.
It is possible to get so absorbed in work that we forget important things like wedding anniversaries, appointments, etc. But Peter speaks of weightier matters that a Christian could forget (2 Peter 1:5-9). It is not that being purged from old sins could totally be eradicated from one’s mind but, rather, that one’s lack of spiritual, character growth was incongruous with having been cleansed from sin. The great blessing of being created anew should, sensibly, move one to build God-like character.
Putting the scriptures in our minds and hearts is so critical to proper behavior that we should study it daily (Colossians 3:16). When we saturate ourselves with God's word, it modifies our behavior and builds us into Christ’s character. To the one who is spiritually minded, that pursuit is never drudgery but one who does not relish its taste will quickly forget what he has learned. We must hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
Skimming through the Bible to prepare for a class lesson or prepare a “last minute” sermon might make an impression on the shallow of mind but will never accomplish much beyond that. The bible is not a work that one can study for fifteen minutes on Saturday night for thirty years and comprehend it. Learning and applying scripture requires diligent study that is prompted from a love for the law of the Lord – that kind of love causes one to mediate on it day and night (Psalms 1:2).
Some things one forgets he has not really forgotten. Peter says three times that he will not be negligent to put these brethren in remembrance of these things, though they knew them (2 Peter 1:12-15). He understood the importance of keeping some things fresh in the conscious, thinking part of man.
Permit me to put you in remembrance that, if we neglect to keep learning and using what we learn, salvation will be lost. – Jim R. Everett
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